Thursday, November 15, 2018

How One City Beat the Winter Doldrums

And other stories from the Nov-Dec 2018 Minnesota Cities magazine

Champ, the University of Minnesota-Duluth mascot,
has a blast skating on the 500-meter ice track.
Let’s face it: Winter in Minnesota can be pretty bleak. Well, Duluth leaders decided to do something about that last year, when they enticed more than 1,800 people to come out and play in the middle of February.

The city’s winter festival included a sledding hill, fire spinners, an ice track, fat-tire bike riding along the Lakewalk, live music, and more. And sure enough, people came out of hibernation, despite sub-zero temps. Even Champ, the University of Minnesota–Duluth mascot, loved it! (The proof is in the picture.)

Duluth put this winter wonderland together in only three months. How’d they do that? With a lot of help from their friends, as it turns out. You can read all about it in the Ideas in Action article in the November-December issue of Minnesota Cities magazine—hitting mailboxes this week! (Here’s a secret: It’s available online now at www.mncities.org!)

In addition to this winter celebration story, you’ll find a variety of other articles, including:

Affordable housing. Cities all over Minnesota are facing a housing crunch. It’s not a Greater Minnesota issue; it’s not a metro problem. It’s everywhere. Find out how some cities are addressing it in The Ongoing Quest for Affordable Housing.

City finance. Solid finances are the key to your city’s success. So, be sure to read these two articles with tips for keeping the city financially stable: Financial Planning for Elected Officials and Measure Up! Key Metrics to Keep Your City in Good Financial Shape.

Clean water. Maybe it’s not the most exciting topic (or maybe it is for you!), but residents in St. Martin were thrilled when the water coming out of their taps was no longer orange. Read Focus on Small Cities to find out how this city of 344 built the first all-biological water treatment plant in the state.

You can also check out From the Bench for summaries of recent court cases, St. Paul to City Hall for LMC Executive Director David Unmacht’s thoughts on what makes a successful city staff, and Two-Way Street for two cities’ experiences with Regional Safety Groups.

Photo credit goes to Wherehouse Productions